Sterling Raskie, PhD, CFP®, EA is Vice President of Client Engagement for Blankenship Financial Planning. Sterling brings over 14 years’ experience in financial planning, investment and insurance. Sterling and Jim share beliefs and philosophies regarding how clients should be treated and how their money needs to work for them to meet their goals. Sterling believes that the client experience should be client focused and client driven, not product driven.
Prior to joining Blankenship Financial, Sterling worked for a financial services firm and also built and ran his own insurance business in WI where he is originally from. When not wearing his financial planning hat, Sterling is a Lecturer of finance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and also teaches financial planning and insurance courses for The American College of Financial Services. He also teaches CFP® exam reviews across the country. Sterling is a very strong proponent of education – not only for industry professionals, but also for his clients.
Jim Blankenship is the founder and principal of Blankenship Financial Planning, Ltd., a financial planning firm providing hourly, as-needed financial planning and advice. A financial services professional for over 30 years, Jim is a CFP® professional and has earned the Enrolled Agent (EA) designation. Jim is also a NAPFA-registered financial advisor, which designates him as a Fee-Only Financial Advisor.
Prior to establishing his independent firm, Jim operated a successful tax preparation service; he also managed information technology operations for a major financial services corporation.
Jim got into this business when his search for an objective financial advisor proved fruitless. It turns out that there were no objective financial advisors in Central Illinois who were willing to work with someone of modest means. Always a do-it-yourselfer, Jim began working to expand his knowledge in order to manage his own finances. As the quest for knowledge evolved, he discovered that he was not alone in the search for objective financial advice — many others want and need the same kind of objectivity and knowledge that he was developing — so Blankenship Financial Planning was launched.
Jim has written four books: An IRA Owner’s Manual, A Social Security Owner’s Manual, A Medicare Owner’s Manual, and Social Security for the Suddenly Single – books that provide comprehensive guides to these vexing subjects.
Jim believes that professional, unbiased financial advice is something that all Americans need, at least periodically, to build the brightest financial futures. Holding to this philosophy, Jim is proud to offer high quality, professional financial advice to people from all walks of life.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete initial and ongoing certification requirements.